Walgreens adjusts second Pfizer COVID dose per CDC guidance

By Shereen Siewert

Walgreens pharmacies, which had been scheduling customers’ Pfizer doses 28 days apart instead of the CDC-recommended 21 days, will now shift second doses for customers, company officials confirmed Wednesday.

The New York Times reported Monday that the doses were scheduled four weeks apart to make scheduling appointments easier. But as the Times and USA TODAY reported late Monday, the company has since changed course and will revert to the 21-day schedule between doses, with that change coming as soon as this week.

Experts say people who received their second dose four weeks after the first have no cause to worry. According to guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people have up to six weeks to get a second dose after receiving a Pfizer vaccine, though the organization still recommends a 21-day span.

The CDC guidance states, “If it is not feasible to adhere to the recommended interval and a delay in vaccination is unavoidable, the second dose of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines may be administered up to 6 weeks (42 days) after the first dose. Currently, only limited data are available on efficacy of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines administered beyond this window.”